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He watched proceedings closely as prosecutor Sally Peters told of his behaviour on the day of his arrest.

Police officers had approached him after their attention was drawn to a vehicle parked on the side of the road which had accident damage, she said.

Asked who had been driving the vehicle, he replied "I am not answering you", the court heard.

Then, launching into an angry tirade to the officers, he went on: "Don't you think I've had enough ******* **** from you lot over the years? I know the law."

Arrested and taken to a police custody suite, he tried to conceal what looked like a white substance in his mouth, Ms Peters said.

"He refused to spit it out, was strip-searched and a rock of cocaine was found in his pocket," she told the court.

A drug test found him positive for the class A drug.

Barrymore's lawyer, Richard Gowthorpe, reminded the court that the quantity of the drug involved had been described as "a very small amount" and that the entertainer had apologised to the police for his behaviour.

While he now had a criminal conviction, his client had entered the court a man of good character, he noted.

"In many ways it's a sad day for Mr Parker to be before the courts and he's pleaded guilty to this offence," he said.

"Certainly he will be punished to a degree by the conviction itself."

Barrymore had urged his lawyer to point out that the evening in question had been "exceptional" and that "there was an exceptional set of circumstances" at the time, Mr Gowthorpe added.

"This behaviour is wholly out of character. This is not part of a general lifestyle that Mr Parker is living.